Software Engineer Salary in Washington and How to Increase It

The software engineer salary in Washington is $113,446 yearly.

Washington has a 21% lower than National average salary base, with software engineers getting $113,446 salary yearly, with bonuses in the range of $6,500.

Washington has 161.1% rate of living conditions.

Software Engineer Salary in Washington Cities

Cities like Seattle, Redmond, and Kent are where software engineers earn the highest salaries in the State of Washington.

With salary as high as $119,406 (Seattle) yearly and as low as $101,139 (Bellevue), the software engineer career in Washington State is lucrative, but the State is expensive to live in.

With Kent beating the State average by 7.8% and Seattle by 20.0%, the average difference between Seattle and Bellevue in salary is 15%.

Cities with Highest Software Engineer Salary in Washington

The table below shows the cities in Washington State paying software engineers the highest salaries:

Cities	Salary Yearly ($)
Seattle	119,406
Redmond	115,862
Kent	106,377
Olympia	106,246
Bremerton	105,910
Spokane	103,590
Vancouver	102,868
Renton	103,765
Kirkland	110,785
Bellevue	101,139

Skill-based Software Engineer Salary in Washington

Listed below are the top relevant skills a software engineer in Washington needs to acquire to earn a higher salary yearly:

• Scala skilled software engineers in Washington State earn 24.30%, which adds $27,567 to salary yearly.
• Os kernels skilled software engineers in Washington earn 17.55% which, translate to $19,909 add on to salary yearly.
• Big data skilled software engineers in Washington earn 17.35%, which gives $19,682 add- on to salary yearly.
• Microservices skilled software engineers in Washington earn 16.13%, which translates to $18,298 add-on to salary yearly.
• Machine learning skilled software engineers in Washington earn 11.71%, which translates to $13,284 add-on to salary yearly.
• Data structure skilled software engineers in Washington earn 10.99%, which is $12,467 add-on to salary.

Experience-based Software Engineer Salary in Washington

Software engineers in the State of Washington with experience earn much higher salaries, see below:  

• Less than 1 year as software engineer in Washington earns $114,944 yearly.
• 1 – 2 years as a software engineer in Washington earns $118,093 annually.
• 3 – 5 years as a software engineer in Washington earns $120,000 yearly.
• 6 – 9 years as a software engineer in Washington earns $135,075 yearly.
• 10 years and higher as a software engineer in Washington earns a yearly salary of $154,750 and above.

10 Companies with Highest Software Engineer Salary in Washington

In the table below are the top ten companies paying software engineer’s the highest salaries in the State of Washington:

Company	Salary Yearly ($)
Airbnb	176,838
Pinterest	156,227
Facebook	160,976
Oracle	160,575
Apple	158,264
Snap Inc.	156,117
Octo Consulting Group	153,511
Offerup	153,178
Capital One	153,047
Dropbox	152,450

More Benefits for Software Engineers in Washington

Software engineers in Washington enjoy some benefits in addition to their salaries; these benefits can be in the short or long term:

• Gym membership. Due to constant sitting and sometimes standing, the Washington State software engineer is most likely to get issues with weight and stress, so they are given gym membership cards to help burn off excess fat. Their companies pay for such membership.
• Vision assistance. The constant use of the computer has some negative effect on the eye, which could result to bad vision. Software engineers in Washington are given vision assistance to help keep their eye sight healthy.
• Visa program. Software engineering companies in Washington help software engineers get visa assistance when invitations occur to attend seminars and conferences out of the country.
• Food provided. Working long and late sometimes makes it impossible to get food; software engineers in Washington are provided food by their employers.
• Stocks. After years of service, the Washington software engineer is given stocks, which can be turned into cash after a period of time; they are given dividends and returns yearly.
• Commuter assistance. Software engineers in Washington are also helped in getting to work daily through commuter assisted programs; this helps beat the hassle of getting late to work.
• Health savings. Saving for the age of retirement and health is undertaken by companies in Washington for their software engineers. A percentage of the engineer’s salary is kept aside for this purpose, and this can be used even while still active, since it’s health related.

What Related Job Titles to Software Engineer Earn in Washington

Here are related jobs to software engineer and the salaries they earn yearly in the State of Washington: 

• Backend developer in Washington State earns a year salary of $124,869.
• Frontend developer in Washington State earns a yearly salary of $123,576.
• Full stack developer in Washington State earns $112,057 yearly salary.
• Applications developer in Washington State earns $88,761 yearly.
• Developer in Washington State earns a yearly salary of $53,965.

Software Engineer Salary and Job Outlook in Washington

The location of Washington on the U.S. map shows it to be an area that is catching up with the Northeast.

The software engineer working and living in the State of Washington, with a 161.1% cost of living and occupying the 9^th position for expensive cost of living, and $113,446 as yearly salary is a stand out state in the Western region of the U.S.

Despite its high cost of living Washington is still affordable with the  high salary obtainable to software engineers.

How to increase your Salary as Software Engineer in Washington

In other to get an increase in salary in the State of Washington, the software engineer can apply the following ideas:

• Get a higher education. A good education can determine what you earn. With that in mind, the software engineer in Washington must have a sound educational background to earn higher.
• Get a good set of Skills. No doubt, skills play a major role in the earning power of a software engineer in Washington. If you want a higher salary, then you may have to improve on your skills or acquire more.
• Move to a bigger City. Washington State has many cities, but some of these cities are bigger and more advanced than others. As a software engineer, it is advisable to move to one of the bigger cities to work and increase your salary.
• Work for bigger paying companies. Another option you can adopt to increase your salary is to work for the bigger and higher paying companies in Washington, see their list above.
• Network with related professionals. There are lots of advertised openings for jobs, which are done internally; the Washington State software engineer looking to get a higher paying job needs not ignore networking with professional colleagues; they can be a great source of information on available jobs.

More Career Opportunities for Software Engineers in Washington

Software engineers in Washington can also find different career opportunities where they can apply their knowledge, skills, and experience.

Here are other industries in Washington where software engineers can also start and build a career (including the salary they earn):  

• Computer programmers in Washington State earn an annual salary of $132,000.
• Sales engineers in Washington State earn $123,000 yearly.
• Computer hardware engineers in Washington earn $121,000 yearly salary.
• Electrical engineers in the State of Washington earn $100,000 yearly salary.

Conclusion

Located in the West of the USA, where living conditions and salary are high, Washington is a very good State to work and live in as a software engineer, provided the engineer is comfortable with the high cost of living.

Information sources: indeed.com, hackreactor.com, ziprecuriter.com, careerexplorer.com, bls.gov, careerexplorer.com, and glassdoor.com.